Thus far, my experiences with this Kroger, specifically the pharmacy, have been a nightmare.
I just moved to Louisville from Richmond and wanted to have my prescriptions sent to this Kroger's pharmacy since it's nearest to my new home. I was experiencing issues on the app, so I called the pharmacy to make sure they successfully received the refill request. The line rang for over 30 minutes before I eventually gave up and hung up.
That didn't seem normal, so I called the general store number to ask if the pharmacy's phone line was functioning properly. They were short with me and said "ma'am, they are just VERY backed up. Do you want to speak to a manager?"
I really didn't have intentions of speaking to a manager, but what the heck, couldn't hurt, right? Wrong.
I nicely explained what I was trying to do to the manager and asked if the pharmacy's phone was working since it had rang for over 30 minutes without being answered, and she said the exact thing the CS associated had just said, that they were "backed up". She then said she'd "make them answer my call" and immediately transferred me back to the pharmacy before I could even reply. Sadly, I sat with the line ringing for another 15 minutes before eventually giving up for good. It's clear the staff is making a concerted effort to ignore the ringing phone lines, or have perhaps even taken the phone off the hook or turned the ringer off. They refuse, even if requested by management, to assist their customers.
I came to Google to look at the reviews to see if this was normal for this location, and low and behold, this seems to be everyone's experience. I just called my Richmond Kroger location earlier today and got through in less than 3 minutes, so this is certainly not normal. No one should be stuck on hold with a local pharmacy for over 30 minutes just trying to ask a simple question about their medication.
I understand if they're short staffed or backed up, but how hard would it be to have an answering service where you could leave a message? How can someone at the main desk answer the phone immediately, but there's no one in the pharmacy that can answer the phone for over an hour? It's all very confusing. Even a message that said "We're experiencing high call volumes, you may be on hold for an extended period of time" would be better than the phone ringing continuously forever. A ringing tone insinuates someone will eventually answer, that which they never do.
It's safe to say I will be filling my prescriptions elsewhere. I am a loyal Kroger shopper and do like receiving the rewards points for my prescriptions, but I'd drive across town before I'd deal with people who have no respect for their customers or their time. I owned a business for 10 years and while you do get busy, you absolutely cannot just choose to ignore people. Come up with a better system to manage callers or don't have a phone line. End of story! ~Devin
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